About Us

Welcome to the N&S crew.

Noble & Savage tips its hat to the pioneers of New Zealand’s unique tea culture, from the first sealers who dined on our fair shores to the inventor of the Thermette almost a century ago.

Our passion and dedication to each step of the traditional tea-making process from the harvest to the pour, Noble & Savage appeals to both the connoisseur and downright thirsty alike, regardless of their bias: black, green, red, white or any other tea.

So why not treat yourself to a brew that is both exquisitely premium and most certainly unique. Noble & Savage. Tea made the way it should be.

The Beginnings

Noble & Savage Tea Merchants was little more than the kernel of an idea when two chums met for a bit of a chinwag over tea served in dainty floral teacups. In a café.

It felt almost as if they were on a romantic date. Annoyed by the stigma and look of this floral teapot they quickly ordered a beer to quash any thought of a mandate onlookers might have envisioned. From that moment forth, with a floral teapot in one hand and beer in the other, the two chums Rupert and Alan set about changing this perception.

After a few years of traveling and building relationships with tea farmers and estates, Rupert registered the business in early 2015 and the plan was (and remains) to develop and distribute a range of premium accessible loose-leaf tea products that New Zealanders could buy and love. One that all Kiwis could be proud to drink anywhere, anytime.

What made this concept unique was the sheer dedication to discovering and promoting new and unknown teas characterised by singular styles and perspectives that make them as outstanding.

Along the way, Rupert and Alan made sure guiding principles such as ‘making human connections’ and ‘giving back’ were woven into the fabric of Noble & Savage’s not very corporate culture. And so it is that these two guiding principles have become a clear and conscious element of every project the company has ever undertaken.

The name, while an oxymoron was surmised from the meaning 'Noble Savage' meaning uncorrupted by civilization. We believe this to be true in regards to the humble tea plant (Camellia Sinensis) that has been with us for thousands of years, and hopefully, if we look after our planet will be for many more healthy cups of tea.